This American Songwriter piece profiles three women who fronted rock groups in the 1960s before going on to build successful careers as solo artists. It frames their stories as examples of performers who, having started out in a band, ultimately found that they thrived more on their own.

The three artists highlighted are Linda Ronstadt, Cher and Janis Joplin. Ronstadt rose to fame in the mid-1960s with The Stone Poneys, left towards the end of the decade, and released her debut solo LP, Hand Sown … Home Grown, in 1969, followed by her 1972 self-titled record featuring musicians who would form the Eagles. Cher began as half of the married duo Sonny & Cher, whose 1965 debut Look at Us was one of five studio albums, before launching a solo career that has spanned decades and produced 27 albums. Janis Joplin, praised for her powerful voice, recorded two albums with Big Brother and the Holding Company (1967 and 1968) and two solo records (1969 and 1971) before her death at a young age.